Something like a review: Dancing! Crazy JK Kali-chan
My recently-spiking enthusiasm in India and Hindu deities led me to read two volumes of eccentric comic series Dancing! Crazy JK Kali-chan (2018; JK Kali-chan, hereafter) by Juoku Kawakami as well as Tenjiku Kitan's ABC book concerning the mythological world.
I haven't opened my purse for any comic books for nearly half a decade ― my penultimate purchase, I suppose, was probably Bakuon!!, a series that features high school girls enjoying motorcycling ― and the chain of my manga-fast was broken by Kawakami's debut under Shinchosha (his maiden work had been published under Futabasha three years before the controversial series).
I find myself averse to seeing any of the characters killed as a reaction to my reading history: I used to enjoy a bit too large number of blood-splattering comics in which characters tend to meet their cruel end. In my humble opinion, therefore, a certain blockbuster only makes my skin creep at its tragic beginning, much to the sorrow of fans of the series (I accept without hesitation that its characters are fairly attractive). In spite of that, JK Kali-chan looks to me just like an organ that is successfully transplanted into my body without rejection as the operation is performed by a surgical prodigy; I cannot ever guarantee the same "surgery" will always be a success to you, though.
Kawakami portrays his characters sometimes with so much humor slightly reminiscent of super-deformed figures drawn by Riyo or at other times with realisticness and dynamicness with which Boichi, illustrator of Dr. Stone, might portray what he wants to express. He knows so well how to employ the two starkly different styles that he frequently pictures scenes, in the former manner, that would be otherwise too graphic for some reason ― the heroine of the comic series is a high school girl, called JK (the abbreviated form of joshi kosei) in Japanese slang, who becomes naked by tearing her clothes at the behest of what is hidden inside her before she turns herself into Kali, a Hindu goddess of darkness, death and regeneration, if certain conditions are met whether she hopes or not.
Well, it's high time I explained what JK Kali-chan is like as I have already referred to one of its main characters. Below is my English translation of the quote from the Comic Bunch website introducing the manga:
What’s she interested in? Slaughter. You’ll find Japanese Indian Kali-chan, who has transferred to Metropolitan Masala High School, a relaxed girl with a cute smile. She makes friends with Ayumi Tomono, one of her classmates, seated next to her, but when the first friend of hers utters a word accidentally, guess what it will trigger off! You’ll see a school drama taking place in a heartwarming way along with bunches of severed heads and splattering blood.
I suspect that the series includes some heartwarming scenes, but it is certain that it has a whole slew of shockingly exciting ones: the heroine Kali-chan, Kali Kuronuma in her real name, beheads those who turn against her every time she changes herself into the three-eyed goddess with blue skin after hearing words such as “enemy” and “kill” (the student has no recollection after she retrieves herself as a human being if someone has their belly stepped on by her, just like pictures of triumphant Kali putting her foot on Shiva). Yes, the manga is "too logic-defying to laugh at" as says Rensuke Oshikiri, cartoonist known for High Score Girl.
Since the manga was serialized for a magazine aimed mainly at young adult men, Kawakami often depicts her divine transformation in a fairly seductive manner; it goes without saying that he also does so every so often except when the heroine is transmogrified. Therefore, the manga is strongly recommended for those who are 15 or over as the Niconico Seiga includes a R-15 tag. Huh, I should perhaps have said this earlier.
In the world of JK Kali-chan, however, the decapitated people never meet their miserable death and revive themselves with their head replaced with that of an elephant (you will be reminded of Ganesha if you are versed in Hindu mythology). Some of the victims seem to pleasantly take advantage of their new head as one of them is seen opening a door using their trunk with their hands full with bulging shopping bags; and their trunk, while its owners are staying under the water of the swimming pool, allows them to breathe much more easily than ordinary human beings. Of course, others desperately want their human heads back in some way or other.
Meanwhile, the author looks quite faithful to Hindu deities and their unrivaled traits as he elaborately draws Shiva and Skanda as well as Kali. As far as I'm concerned, what I like the best is how cutely Kawakami depicts Ganesha in the comic series, who sometimes looks like a popular mascot of a theme park ― provided that I exclude crucial scenes where different goddesses appear (how beautiful they appear; I truly wish he drew their serious pictures more).
The sole disappointment in JK Kali-chan is the absence of Lakshmi (one of my Hindu goddesses I adore), yet this cannot be helped as the manga puts an exclusive focus on Kali, in other words Shiva and his relevant deities. Kawakami says at the end of the second volume that he hopes to make comic series themed on Vishnu and Brahma, which I would very much like to happen in the near future.
May there be glory to author Juoku Kawakami, Hindu deities and the country blessed by the divine! For those who get interested in the comic series, please visit https://www.comicbunch.com/manga/end/kalichan/ for the first three stories for free.
Postscript: When I started to jot these down, I learned that Kali had served as one of the inspirations for the well-known logo of British rock band Rolling Stones!
